MUELLER TO THE WORLD: READ THE REPORT! … ROBERT MUELLERis done. The special counsel made abundantly clear this morning that he has no interest in testifying in front of Congress, and if made to do so, he would stick to the confines of his 448-page report.
“I HOPE AND EXPECTthis to be the only time I will speak in this manner,” Mueller said, noting that giving today’s statement was his decision, not anyone else’s.“THE REPORTis my testimony.”
MUELLERalso said that, because of long-standing DOJ regulations, he could not consider charging the president with a crime. But he did say, “If we had confidence that the president did not commit a crime, we would have said so.” He also said this in the report.More from Natasha Bertrand…Full transcript…Video
THE TAKEAWAYS:Mueller basically repeated what was in his report. This was not a game changer. But he made clear that if he were made to testify, it would be a non-event, since he’d simply reiterate what he already put in writing.
— RHETORICALLY, AND STRATEGICALLY,Democrats have a choice to make. They were looking to a potential public appearance by Mueller to guide whether to begin impeachment proceedings. On the one hand, it doesn’t appear they are going to get a big Mueller hearing — and if they force him to testify, the special counsel will stick to the script. On the other hand, his eight-minute statement suggests how powerful putting him on camera could be. Absent a big Mueller event, Democrats might need to find a new goal post.
— POLITICALLY,of course, Democrats are exceedingly unlikely to let this statement stand. They’re still going to want Mueller to testify.
— WHERE THINGS STAND:Mueller didn’t offer Democrats anything new. Impeachment is still a decision that rests with SpeakerNANCY PELOSI.And all publicly available evidence as of today indicates Pelosi doesn’t think impeachment is a good idea right now.
THAT’S NOT WHAT HE SAID, BUT …@realDonaldTrump:“Nothing changes from the Mueller Report. There was insufficient evidence and therefore, in our Country, a person is innocent. The case is closed! Thank you.”
— FROM SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS: “The Special Counsel has completed the investigation, closed his office, and has closed the case. Mr. Mueller explicitly said that he has nothing to add beyond the report, and therefore, does not plan to testify before Congress. The report was clear—there was no collusion, no conspiracy—and the Department of Justice confirmed there was no obstruction. Special Counsel Mueller also stated that Attorney General Barr acted in good faith in his handling of the report. After two years, the Special Counsel is moving on with his life, and everyone else should do the same.”
JUDICIARY CHAIRMAN JERRY NADLER SPEAKS:“Given that Special Counsel Mueller was unable to pursue criminal charges against the President, it falls to Congress to respond to the crimes, lies and other wrongdoing of President Trump – and we will do so. No one, not even the President of the United States, is above the law.”Full statement
— WHAT NADLER DIDN’T SAY:anything about Mueller testifying, or whether he believes his committee should begin impeachment proceedings.
— NADLER’Sholding a press conference at 2 p.m.
DESPITE NO NEW INFO … @KamalaHarris:“What Robert Mueller basically did was return an impeachment referral. Now it is up to Congress to hold this president accountable. We need to start impeachment proceedings. It’s our constitutional obligation.”
— Pete Buttigiegto NBC, per Josh Lederman: “This is as close to an impeachment referral as you could get under the circumstances.”
— @CoryBooker:“Robert Mueller’s statement makes it clear: Congress has a legal and moral obligation to begin impeachment proceedings immediately.”
— @BetoORourke:“There must be consequences, accountability, and justice. The only way to ensure that is to begin impeachment proceedings.”
DEPT. OF GREAT TIMING … CBSannounced thatJAN CRAWFORDwill sit down for an interview withA.G.BILL BARR.The first excerpt will air Thursday on “CBS Evening News,” and the whole interview will be on “CBS This Morning” on Friday.
THE INVESTIGATIONS …CNN’S KATELYN POLANTZ (@kpolantz):“NEW FROM COURT TODAY: Andrew Miller, an associate of Roger Stone, has agreed to testify to a grand jury used by Mueller at 9:30 am this Friday, his attorney and Mueller prosecutor Aaron Zelinsky said at a hearing today.”
Good Wednesday afternoon. LEGISLATIVE DAYS UNTIL AUGUST RECESS: 28.
TRACKING TRADE … THE PRESIDENT’S TOP LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY … BLOOMBERG’S JENNY LEONARDandNACHA CATTAN: “Congress Aides Plan Mexico Trip to Survey USMCA Labor Progress”:“A bipartisan group of U.S. congressional staff plan to visit Mexican government officials to discuss labor reforms that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said need to be implemented there to gain Democratic support for President Donald Trump’s new Nafta.” Bloomberg
ON THE WORLD STAGE — DEFENSE ONE’S KATIE BO WILLIAMS (@KatieBoWill):“JUST IN: Acting SecDef Shanahan says that the 900 troops being sent to the Mideast in response to what the administration calls an elevated Iran threat are going to Qatar and Saudi Arabia. (This is interesting since the place officials say American troops were at risk was Iraq.)”
— REUTERS/AMMAN: “Jordan’s king tells Trump adviser peace can only come with a Palestinian state”
— “U.S. Says Russia Likely Conducting Low-Yield Nuke Tests, Defying Test Ban Treaty,”by WSJ’s Michael Gordon: “The assessment marks the first time the U.S. has said the Kremlin has failed to strictly observe its commitments under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. It comes as the arms-control framework constraining military competition between the U.S. and Russia has begun to crack and the two sides pursue ambitious programs to field new nuclear weapons. …
“Administration officials declined to specifythe size of the Russian tests—whether they involve tiny blasts equivalent to the explosive power of a few pounds of TNT—or if they were substantially larger. Nor would they say if the U.S. has raised its concerns directly with Moscow.” WSJ
— “Exclusive: Islamic State suspects sent by U.S. from Syria to Iraq,”by Reuters’ Raya Jalabi in Baghdad and Alissa de Carbonnel in Brussels:“U.S. forces have quietly sent at least 30 suspected foreign Islamic State fighters captured in Syria last year and in late 2017 to stand trial in Iraq, interviews with the men, Iraqi sources and court documents show.” Reuters
WHAT ELSE IS ON THE PRESIDENT’S MIND — @realDonaldTrumpat 7:40 a.m.: “Republicans cannot allow themselves to again lose the Senate seat in the Great State of Alabama. This time it will be for Six Years, not just Two. I have NOTHING against Roy Moore, and unlike many other Republican leaders, wanted him to win. But he didn’t, and probably won’t…..
… “…If Alabama does not electa Republican to the Senate in 2020, many of the incredible gains that we have made during my Presidency may be lost, including our Pro-Life victories. Roy Moore cannot win, and the consequences will be devastating….Judges and Supreme Court Justices!”
LATEST ON ABORTION — “House GOP grapples with abortion messaging after Alabama law,”by Laura Barrón-López and Melanie Zanona: “The party hoped a relentless anti-abortion message coupled with attempts to tag Democrats as socialists could help them regain the House majority. This year alone, House Republicans have tried 50 times to force a vote on ‘born alive’ legislation — which mandates medical care for babies who survive attempted abortions — in an attempt to corner Democrats in swing districts through procedural floor tactics. …
“But Republicans have gone mostly quietsince Alabama’s governor signed a bill into law that all but bans abortion — even in cases of rape and incest — and punishes doctors who provide the procedure with up to 99 years to life behind bars.” POLITICO
— WAPO FACT CHECKER … FOUR PINOCCHIOS — “Planned Parenthood’s false stat: ‘Thousands’ of women died every year before Roe”
2020 WATCH — JAMES ARKIN: “Harrison launches campaign against Graham in South Carolina”:Former state party chairman Jaime “Harrison attacked Graham by replaying old clips of him calling Trump ‘crazy’ and a ‘kook’ during the 2016 campaign, followed by clips of Graham praising Trump, including saying the president ‘deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, and then some.’ …
“As of March 31,Harrison had already banked $200,000 for the race, though it’s only a small fraction of the $4.6 million Graham had on hand at the end of March. Harrison is a member of the [DNC] and ran for chair of the [DNC] in 2017 … Harrison also told his own story about being raised by his grandparents, getting a scholarship to Yale and attending law school at Georgetown, before returning home to South Carolina.” POLITICO …Launch video
— NOTE:Harrison is a former top aide to Rep. Jim Clyburn, a member of the House leadership and a political powerhouse in South Carolina.
— WSJ’S EMILY GLAZERin Los Angeles:“California, Now a Democratic Primary Player, Draws a Wave of Contenders”: “Fourteen presidential candidates will trek to the California Democratic Party convention in San Francisco this weekend to lay the groundwork for their campaigns in the Golden State, which is worth more than three times as many delegates as New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina combined. …
“With California’s 2020 primary slated for March 3— more than two months earlier than it was in 2016 — candidates are traveling west not only to raise money but also to lock in support with the state’s more than 400 delegates, who will be allocated proportionally based on the primary results statewide and in individual congressional districts. … All of the front-running Democratic candidates are attending the convention except for former Vice President Joe Biden, and it projects to be the biggest single gathering of contenders so far in the 2020 election cycle.” WSJ
THE POLICY PRIMARY … “Beto O’Rourke proposes immigration overhaul, path to citizenship,”by David Siders:“O’Rourke on Wednesday proposed a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s immigration system, including a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants and a $5 billion investment in Central America.
“In his proposal, O’Rourke saidhe would take executive action on his first day in office to end family separations at the border, rescind travel bans, reunite families and ‘remove the fear of deportation’ for younger immigrants known as Dreamers and people with temporary protected status.” POLITICO …The plan
— NICOLE GAUDIANO: “Biden rolls out plan to hike teacher pay in low-income schools”…The plan
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION — DAN DIAMOND:“Scott Lloyd, whose nearly two-year tenure leading the HHS refugee office sparked lawsuits and congressional inquiries, will leave the Trump administration next week, HHS announced Wednesday.” POLITICO
FOR YOUR RADAR — JOSH GERSTEIN: “Emails, letters detail prosecution’s case against Greg Craig”:“Federal prosecutors have laid bare more of their most compelling evidence that former White House Counsel Gregory Craig lied to and misled authorities about his work for Ukraine, but the newly-disclosed proof also highlights one of the most glaring weaknesses in the government’s case.” POLITICO
BEYOND THE BELTWAY — “Which Box Do You Check? Some States Are Offering a Nonbinary Option,”by NYT’s Amy Harmon in Boston: “[W]ith bills to add a nonbinary marker to driver’s licenses moving through at least six legislatures this session, the expansive conception of gender that many teenagers can trace to middle-school lunch tables is being scrutinized on a new scale. …
“The wave of proposed gender-neutral legislationhas prompted debate over whether extending legal recognition to a category of people still unknown to many Americans could undermine support for other groups vulnerable to discrimination. It has also highlighted how disorienting it can be to lose the gendered cues, like pronouns, names, appearance and mannerisms, that shape so much of social interaction.” NYT
— “Lawmakers Push for More Security at Houses of Worship,”by WSJ’s Ian Lovett: “Local, state and federal lawmakers are pushing for funding to protect houses of worship following a series of deadly shootings, signaling that the days of the church with its doors propped open at all hours may be over. …
“In Washington, D.C.,Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) introduced legislation earlier this month to authorize $75 million in grants to help secure religious gathering places and other nonprofit organizations—up from $60 million last fiscal year. The grants fund everything from surveillance cameras to active-shooter training, a step more religious organizations are taking.” WSJ
EYES ON THE SKIES — “Boeing Faces Difficult Recovery From Protracted 737 MAX Grounding,”by WSJ’s Robert Wall and Doug Cameron
MEDIAWATCH — Ashley Feinbergis joining Slate as a senior writer. She’s a HuffPost, Wired and Gawker alum. The Daily Beast
— Laurie AbrahamandThomas Gebremedhinare joining The Atlantic as senior editors at the print magazine. Abraham is currently executive features editor at New York magazine, and Gebremedhin most recently was culture editor at the WSJ Magazine.
TRANSITIONS — Mohamed El-Erianwill be the next president of Oxford’s Queens College. He is currently chief economic adviser at Allianz. …Michael Joffrionis joining New Politics as a senior campaign adviser. He previously managed Sen. Luther Strange’s (R-Ala.) campaign and is an NRSC and Romney 2012 alum.
SPOTTED:Harold Ford Jr. and Donna Brazile on the Shepler’s 10:30 a.m. ferry from Mackinaw City, Mich., to Mackinac Island. They’re speaking at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s annual conference.
ENGAGED — Andy Duberstein,principal at Sard Verbinnen & Co and a House Energy & Commerce and Fred Upton alum, on Saturday proposed toTaylor Daly,executive director of fashion marketing at Condé Nast.Instapic
- Anna Palmer @apalmerdc
- Jake Sherman @JakeSherman
- Daniel Lippman @dlippman
- Eli Okun @eliokun
- Garrett Ross @garrett_ross
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